Stand for operating lasts



A ril 18, 1950 Filed Oct. 29, 1948 H. F. LOEWER' STAND FOR OPERATING LASTS Henry F Loewer 2 Sheets-Sheet l Invenmr April 18, 1950 LOEWER 2,504,138

STAND FOR OPERATING LASTS Filed Oct. 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 In venzor Henr'yF Loewer Byff Azforney Patented Apr. 18, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STAND FOR OPERATING LASTS Henry F. Loewer, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to United Last Company, Portland, Maine, a corporation of Maine Application October 29, 1948, Serial No. 57,182

Claims. (01. 12-151) The purpose of this invention is to provide a stand and means for unlocking and collapsing a last of the type set forth in United States Letters Patent 2,404,805 granted July 30, 1946, on application of V. J. Levaggi, Jr. Such a last is provided with a strong but resilient two-armed link by which a pivot pin in the forepart is connected with a pivot pin and a latching pin in the heel part.

Since a last must be capable of withstanding heavy stresses to which it is subjected in lasting machines, leveling machines and cement soleattaching machines, a link of the type under discussion is made of heavy spring-steel Wire that requires considerable power to unlatch and col-' lapse a last. A comparatively short travel of the latching arm is sufficient to release it from the latching pin, but a much longer travel thereof is necessary to collapse a last after the latching arm has been unlatched.

A novel feature of the operating stands hereinafter described is embodied partly in a formation of a last-engaging lever and partly in its.

relation to the fulcrum with which it cooperates. A novel result due to this feature is that the last-engaging finger of that lever may continue to displace the latching arm of a two-armed link far enough beyond its point of unlatching to collapse the last by shifting the forepart thereof while the heel part remains stationary and perched on a spindle of the stand.

The present application is a continuation in part of my original application, Serial No. 788,203,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the stand minus the operating lever;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a metallic socket and a pin for anchoring it in the heel part of a last;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 represent elevations of a last, partly in section, and the adjacent portion of the.

operating lever in (Fig. 5) its initial position, (Fig. 6) an intermediate position of unlatching of the latching arm, and (Fig. 7) a position corresponding to collapse of the last; and g Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 represent an alternate form of my improved last-operating stand, the

base and treadle connections being omitted, and:

showing (Fig. 8) an elevation of this stand with its near side plate broken away and its modified operating lever in initial position, (Fig. 9) a plan view of the upper portion of the alternate stand, (Fig. 10) a rear elevation, partly in section along the line X-X of Fig. 9, and (Fig. 11) an elevation similar to Fig. 8 but omitting a side plate and depicting the modified operating lever in position corresponding to collapse of the last and indicating the finger tip paths of both forms of the stand.

The last represented in the drawing is hereinafter described. The present invention is embodied in the operating stands, one of which is shown in Figs. 1-7, inclusive, and comprises a support Ill and an operating lever of fiat metal, the body portion it of which is provided with an arcuate slot 16. If the support It is to stand on a floor it will be provided with a base H and a treadle 12. The upper portion of the support is an upstanding spindle l3 adapted to engage the socket 2D in the heel part 2| of an inverted last.

The body of the support Ill may be a tubular post, and the spindle It may be an integral portion of a cap l4. Coplanar kerfs l3 and ID in the spindle and body, respectively, provide a mortise extending above and below the root of the spindle. The body ii of the operatinglever is nested in the kerf ill, while a finger ll of the lever projects upwardly therefrom and is nested in the kerf I3 of the spindle. of the finger I1 is arcuate and only as wide as the spindle i 3, but the finger is straight above its root .1

portion and normally flush with the spindle. The outcurved arcuate surface iii of the root portion is concentric with the arcuate slot l6, and their common center (dot H3 in Fig. 2) is outside the boundary of the lever. The cap i4 is provided.

with an upright fulcrum surface 22 below the root of the spindle I3, and when the elements are assembled the outcurved surface l8 of the lever may rock and slide up and down on the surface' 22. The lever is then supported by a pin 23 set into the support In and intersecting the slot 16.

The center [9 is thus maintained outside the boundary of the support.

A contractile spring 24 anchored to the support l0 and connected to the lever rocks the latter normally to the position represented in Figs.

' l and 5. One end of a flexible cable 25 is attached to the lever, and the other end is anchored to the support it, while an intermediate portion thereof is wrapped around a segment of a sheave 26 carried by the treadle I2. The cable also extends through the support Hi from side to side and over The root portion a sheave 21 mounted therein. Depressing the treadle will rock the lever to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 and by solid lines in Fig. 7.

The type of last for which this operating stand is designed comprises a heel part 2|, a forep-art 30 and a resilient two-armed link connecting them, the arm 3| of which constitutes a coupling arm, and the arm 32 of which constitutes a latching arm. The link is nested in kerfs formed in the forepart and heel part and is anchored to the forepart by a pivot pin 33 and to the heel part by a pivot pin 34. When the forepart and heel part are in last-forming relation the latching arm 32, which is flexible and resilient, is deflected away from the arm 3i by a latching pin 35 (Fig. if not otherwise deflected to a greater extent as in Fig. 6. In Fig. 5 a latching shoulder 36 of the arm 32 is caught on the pin 35, andthe parts 2! and 33 are thereby locked in last-forming relation.

For the sake of durability the heel part is reinforced with a tubular steel socket member '25 adapted to receive the spindle l3 and the finger I? nested therein. The socket member .is anchored in the heel part by a pin 31 and is provided with a slot 38 through which the finger l1 may be projected as in Fig. 6 to deflect the arm 32 away from the arm 3| far enough to disengage the shoulder 36 from the pin 35, or as in Fig. '7 to swing the link about the pivot pin "34 and thereby collapse the last.

As shown in Fig. 5 only the straight portion of the finger I? projects above the cap i i, but when the operating lever is rocked to the position shown in Fig. '7 a considerable quantity of the arcuate root portion is thrust above the cap, specifically the quantity between the radial lines a and b that intersect the center l9 about which the lever rocks. Consequently, the effective length and range of the finger H are increased as the .arcuate .root portion enters the spindle through its lower end. At the level of line b no portion of the finger 5? must or can move otherwise than lengthwise of the spindle l3. Therefore, even though the width of the finger may be equal to the inside diameter of the socket 20, the location of the center 29 of rocking movement enables the tip of the finger to travel far enough toward the latching pin 35 of a last to collapse thelast and thereafter, by its engagement with the latching arm 32 to maintain the link in the position shown inIFig. '7.

The mouth of the socket member (Fig. 4) is formed by a complete annulus which includes a segment 39 lying across one end of the slot.

38. This segment is effective, when th :finger [1 projects through the slot 38, to prevent the heel .part 2i from rising in response to efforts of the operator to strip a shoe from the :last.

Another and improved form of a last-operating stand embodying the invention is represented in Figs. 8-11, inclusive, the base and treadle connections being omitted, and'will now be described. It comprises a support including two flat side plates 50, 52 (Fig. 8), a last engaging lever 54 and an operating lever 55 pivotally :connected thereto, and, in its upper portion, a spindle 58 (which corresponds to th spindle i3) adapted for engagement with the socket "2G in the heel part 2 l of an inverted last.

Advantageously, no portion of the levers 56 or 54 projects outside the stand. An upwardly projecting finger 59 of the lever 54 manhowever, rock intoand out of one side of the spindle to unlock and collapse a last as will be hereinafter described. The spindle 58 has a grooved block portion (Fig. 9) which serves as a spacer between the plates 50, 52, its groove receiving a bolt 50 which secures the parts together. As in the spindle l3, coplanar kerfs 62, 54 (Fig. 10) in the spindle 58 provide a mortise extending above and below its root, and the last-engaging lever 54 is nested therein. A spacer 56 is fastened between the plates 50, 52 to enclose the top of the stand. The spindle 58 is provided below its root with an upright bearing surface 68 (Figs. 8 and 11) against which a convex surface of the lever 54 may rock :and slide up andd'own.

A fixed stud 10 extends through t .e plate 50 and a bracket member 12 to support a fulcrum .roll 14 arranged to engage the walls of a guide slot 16 in the operating lever 55. The roll M is erotata'bly retained on the stud Iii and against a Washer 78 recessed in the plate 59 by means of a screw Bil, the screw Bil being threaded in an end of the stud 10. The lower end of the lever '56 is pivotally connected by a crank pin 52 to a wheel 84 which is rotatable by means of a meshing rack 86 and pinion 88, the latter being integral with the wheel 84 and rotatably mounted on a stubshaft 95. The rack 36 is arranged for vertical movement in a guide slot of the member 12. mechanism (not shown) is associated with the rack 86 to move it vertically within the stand and thereby swing the operating lever 56 about the roll 14.

Operation of this last stand is similar to that first described above. An inverted last of the same spring-link type previously referred to receives the spindle 58 in its socket 2c. The operating lever 53 will first be swung and .lowered from its initial position shown in Fig. 8 to its approximately final position indicated in Fig. 10. This is done by means of the rack 85 which is raised (by treadle mechanism or otherwise) to move the pin 82 over a nearly semi-circular path. It will be noted that all movabl elements of the stand .are shielded by it and that no part can project therefrom to mar a shoe or interfere with an operator. Actuating the operating lever 58 swings the last-engaging lever 54 so that its finger 59 is rocked into and out of one side of the spindle 58. .As with the first-described lastoperating stand, the tip of the finger 59 travels toward the latching pin 35 of the last and, by its engagement with the latching arm 52, maintains th link so that the last is held in collapsed condition corresponding to that shown in Fi 7.

Referring to vFig. 11, the path of travel of the tip of the finger 59 in collapsing a last is indicated by the broken concave curve as-y (lower) while the corresponding path for the finger I1 is shown by the broken convex curve x-y (upper). It will be seen that while the extent of travel is about equal, the levers 55 cause the tip of finger 59 first to move downwardly more than outwardly, and thereafter to move still fur ther outwardly. As a consequence, in addition to avoiding some frictional wear when engaging th deflected heavy wire latching arm 32, the

finger 59 advantageously tends to release the latter more readily from the latching pin 35 by urging the shoulder 35 downwardly and away from said pin rather than tending initially topush the shoulder 36 against that pin. Spring or other means may be employed to return the -rack.86:to its original inoperative position where- Treadle-operated linkage or other suitable by to restore the last-engaging lever 54 to its nested position in the stand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: v

1. A last-stand comprising a support one portion of which constitutes an upstanding spindle for engaging a socket in the heel part of an inverted last, the support having a mortise extending above and below the root of said spindle, a lever nested in said mortise and having a finger extending into said spindle, said support having an upright fulcrum surface below the root of said spindle, and said finger having an outcurved surface arranged to rock and slide up and down on said fulcrum surface, means arranged to maintain said outcurved surface of the finger in cooperative relation to said fulcrum surface, and means for rocking said lever in a manner to move said finger into and out of one side of said spindle.

2. A last-stand comprising a support one portion of which constitutes an upstanding spindle adapted to engage a socket in the heel part of an inverted last, the support having a mortise partly in said spindl and partly below the root thereof, a lever nested in said mortise, the lever having a body portion and a finger projecting upwardly therefrom into said spindle, the root portion of said finger having an outcurved arcuate surface and the support having an upright fulcrum surface on which said arcuate surface is arranged to rock and slide up and down to project the free end of the finger from one side of the spindle, means by which the root portion of said finger is maintained in cooperative relation to said fulcrum surface, and means for rocking said lever about the axis of said arcuate movable in said mortise, the lever including a body portion and a finger projecting upwardly therefrom, the body portion being located below said spindle, but the finger projecting into the spindle through the root thereof, said finger having an arcuate outcurved surface the axis of which is outside the boundary of the support but adjacent to the root of the spindle, said sup port having an upright bearing surface on which said outcurved surface may rock and slide up and down, and means for rocking said lever about said axis.

4. A last-stand comprising a support one portion of which constitutes an upstanding spindle adapted to engage a socket in the heel part of an inverted last, the support having a mortise partly in said spindle and partly below it, a lever one porition of which is below said spindle and another portion of which constitutes a finger and projects upwardly into the mortise in said spindle, a portion of said finger being arcuate and as wide as the root of said spindle, and means for rocking said lever about an axis so located as to constrain said arcuate portion to move into and out of the spindle through the lower end thereof.

5. A last-stand comprising a support one portion of which constitutes an upstanding spindle adapted to engage a socket in the heel part of an inverted last, the support having a mortise partly in said spindle and partly below it, a last-engaging lever having a. finger extending into the mortise in said spindle through the root of the latter and having a lower portion below the spindle, an operating lever below said lastengaging lever, a pivot connecting the upper portion of the operating lever and the lower portion of the last-engaging lever, and means for actuating said operating lever in a manner to rock said finger into and out of one side of said spindle.

HENRY F. LOEWER.

No references cited. 

